Tattoos

Good night all,

I always try and keep my ramblings somewhat socially relevant without ever touching politics or religion, because I don't want my head to end up on a shiny new pike.

At times I begin to wonder what exactly is something that is socially relevant and being somewhat kosher to talk about. I am at least a little bit sensitive to what others believe, yet at the same time I don't give a flying you know what about it all. I think everyone should should keep a button on it, but that is just my cynical viewpoint on life in general. And here I am spilling my thoughts to the world. That is the true definition of irony.

Tattoos, and being that I have them I feel as though it gives me more justification to talk about them then not. Even though I don't normally look for justification, sometimes it is best to explain, that way I don't come across as completely incompetent, and a humongous dolt with several conspiracy theories.

But what  needs to be addressed are certain aspects of tattoos, and the questions that I, a person with visible tattoos get asked on a regular basis. Keep in mind that I only have two that are visible, but that doesn't stop the torrent of never ending idiocy to shine through.

The first and foremost one that I get asked is the trademarked and overly used tattoo question is "Does it hurt?" I always tell myself that I am going to answer that with the answer that is ALWAYS is in my head. It's very rude and curt but I feel that it gets the point across quite well. I would love to answer it like this. "No, it feels great, especially the part where the ink gets injected under your skin at high rpm's." This is of course the answer I would LIKE to give. But I usually end up doing the polite thing of saying "Well, it depends on where it is done at."

Why don't I "man up" and just say it like it is? Who knows, even I, the person who answers it, has no clue.

The next best one I got was from a person who was roughly my age. More snide above anything else, this was an attempt to make me feel bad or more like a "thug" because I have art on my body instead of on a canvas. "Don't you know those things last forever" this time I did fire back with something that I though was an appropriate response to someone who was ignorant and overall a total jerk. "Wait.... the guy told me that this would wash off! Oh...My...God... WHAT HAVE I DONE!!!!!!" The guy then had one of those smirks that he thought that he had completely gotten to me. I don't think he understands the definition of sarcasm very well. I think my incredibly witty and somewhat quick response was wasted on him.

This one goes without giving an active scenario setup. "Have you ever thought about getting them removed?" Uh, how bout no, I made the decision of getting this done with the knowledge that they would be here to stay. I don't intend on getting them removed, plus it is painful and costs a lot more than getting them done. All I said to the person was "no."

This question is one for the ages as well, probably the stupidest one to date. This is in reference to my mom and dad tattoo that is on my inner forearm. "Oh, cool tattoo... did they pass?" The answer was just a simple "No."

This ties directly into the commercialization of tattoos with shows where pompous asses tattoo people. A la L.A. ink, where the COOLEST PERSON IN THE WORLD  Kat Von D tattoos people on t.v. Note, she hardly ever tattoos anyone anymore because she has realized that she has to do other things to stay on t.v. so people still think she is still valid.

This commercialization of what people see on t.v. equates to people asking questions like the above, because they think that is the only reason why people get tattoos that show that they love someone is because they kicked the bucket. These shows have really taken out the heart of tattooing, (and a lot of other things that were in my life prior to their existence on t.v.) and eaten it's soul for breakfast. Which irritates me to my core, at least all of the fad shows on t.v. like axe men and such are waining in popularity that way the soul can return to what is right in the world.

When I have tattoos, I know that not everyone is going to like them, I am not going to kid myself and say otherwise or try to convince people that they are good. Frankly, I tried the whole getting people on my side and it doesn't work. The important thing, is that if you have tattoos you did it for reasons you aren't going to regret down the road. Obviously, a tribal arm band doesn't fall into this category, because we all know that you were in a frat in college in the 90's.

Moreover, I find that I get more looks and scowls from people my age (early 20's) than my grandparents, who have made it clear that they don't like them, but they don't go out of their way to make it known, because they know that, they are who I am and I am their grandson whom they love. My very redneck uncle (I mean that in the best way possible) even said that he liked them. This shocked me quite a bit.

But back on topic, a quote from most people with tattoos and tattoo artists, is that tattoos can act as a window or a door. They allow people to look in, and keep out the ones that you don't want around you.

Keep this in mind and then keep your traps shut. Maybe I should heed my own advice... noooooo. I don't work like that, everyone knows that.


-WCNJ